This past week I spent some time in Shepherdstown, WV for Orientation training for the Presidential Management Fellows program. While the programming had its normal fill of excruciatingly bad ice breakers such as running around with a bandanna tied about your head while making sheep noises (yes I really did that) it did have some particularly bright outcomes. First, I met some great people and was very impressed by the caliber of PMFs, particularly from the State Department. Everyone was open and talkative and had a genuine interest in what others had to say. Second, we conducted a simulation over the period of a day where we had to work together in a fictitious position within an agency in order to respond to a world crisis. The simulation was conducted by the National Strategic Gaming Center from the National Defense University who administer these simulations for all levels of federal and state government. The crisis simulated the introduction of a human-to-human strain of the bird flu virus in the Pacific region and its eventual spread to the United States. We spent a day in our assigned respective agency positions (i.e. State, DHS, DOD, CDC) evaluating ways we could respond and conduct inter agency cooperative measures to combat the spread of the flu in the US. I took comfort in knowing that even at the lowest levels (entry level) we were practicing and learning ways in which different agencies could work together and respond to a national security crisis.

I also spent the weekend in Roanoke, VA with Volldoll. It was a wonderful time especially since we hadn't seen each other for over two weeks. Long distance relationships can be tough but being her, although brief, made it bearable. We spent Saturday afternoon driving along the Blue Ridge Mountain Parkway taking in the spectacular view. Enjoy some photos from our trip.